Whatever It Takes
by Princess Gin-Gin
Summary: Basically, this is an L/J...following Lily and James through their years at Hogwarts...i know what you're thinking, "read one L/J, read 'em all"...but this one is gonna be different, and original, i hope!


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Whatever It Takes

AN: yet another L/J fic by the one and only, Ginny Loo-Who!I know what your thinking, "does this girl ever quit it? I mean, she KNOWS her fics suck why does she torture us so?"so trueonly thing is, I happen to enjoy writing fics and receiving reviewsfor all you ITN (In The News) fans, I *will* get up the next chapterone dayI know! I know! It's been forever! And I shouldn't be so crueland I *was* planning on getting it up a week and a half agojust one teeny hitchMY STUPID LAPTOP BROKE! *grumbles*im on my iMac right now, but I don't have In The News on this computerI know, sucks, doesn't it? Well, I have an absolute NEED to write, so I decided to start a fic! Whoo! Btw, this fic has *no* connection to The Phoenix Ring, and it is *not* the prequel to The Phoenix Ring that I promised to writeok? Are we clear? Wellhere it goeshope you like it!

Disclaimer: So far, everything in this fic belongs to either me or the brilliant JK Rowling

Chapter One

Lily Evans chewed on her pinky nail. She smiled weakly as she kissed her mum and dad goodbye. She then turned to her sister, Petunia, whose blonde curls, and rosy cheeks shone in the sunlight. Petunia was truly the beauty of the family, Lily thought scornfully, as she looked into her older sister's eyes, as blue as the sea. 

"Bye, Pet! I'll see you over Christmas! I hope you have a fabulous year at Cecilia's!" Lily said to her sister, trying to keep any scorn out of her tone. Cecilia's School for Young Ladies was the boarding school in which Petunia spent most of the year, besides holidays at. Lily would have gone there as well if she hadn't been accepted into Hogwarts. It was quite a shock, and Lily knew there had been a hint of disappointment in her parents' faces when she told them that she would prefer Hogwarts to Cecilia's. Lily's mother had gone to Cecilia's and Lily was sure that, although both her parents were ecstatic at the idea of a true witch in the family, her mother had been hoping Lily would go to Cecilia's as well. All the same, Lily was glad not to be going to Cecilia's. It wasn't for her; much too expensive and fancy for her liking. Lily was quite the bookworm, and hadn't exactly been very popular in primary school. In fact, she had never even had one friend; ever. Never in her entire life had she made a friend. She didn't quite think she knew how. _Things will be different at Hogwarts. _Lily thought to herself, although she was not quite sure. 

Lily turned back toward her family, and waved one last goodbye, ignoring the scowl on Petunia's face. Petunia had been quite keen on Lily going to Cecilia's with her. "Goodbye, everyone! I'll write, I promise!" She smiled at her family, and abruptly turned around, and walked straight through the platform. _The platform to my new life. _Lily thought.

Lily walked onto the train. Suddenly, she was in a different world. Exploding things, wand waving, and practical jokes filled the air. Laughter, and smiles from people who were reuniting with their friends after their holidays echoed in the air. Lily felt small and alone next to all the people who all seemed to know each other. She made her way down to a compartment that was empty and sat down. She cracked open one of her school books, "A Beginner's Guide to Charms" by Nicola Marchfield and began to read. All the magic that was out there, all the magic that she would be learning, absolutely fascinated her. It was far more interesting than any fantasy book she had ever read. Even more amazingly, this would become her life. 

She absorbed herself into her book until she was disturbed by the sound of someone coming through the door. A few someones, actually. One had light blonde hair, which looked like it had an entire bottle of hair gel in it, the boy himself looked quite short. The other was quite a bit taller, and had black hair that looked like it had been washed in grease. Lily coughed from her corner of the corridor. As she expected, they both turned their heads toward one. She smiled widely, excited to make new friends, even if they had hair problems, not as though she was one to talk. Her hair was bushy and red, and looked as though she had just been electrocuted. "Hi, there!" Lily said, continuing to grin. "I'm Lily Evans! What're your names?"

The blonde one gave a small snicker, and nudged the black haired one in the ribs. "Oh, look, Severus, it's a little muggle girl! Pitiful looking, isn't she? Tell me, Evans, is it? Do you try to make your hair look as horrible a possible, or does it just come naturally?"

Lily's face reddened. _I wouldn't be one to talk. _Lily shouted in her head. _I wouldn't be one to talk! Lily, say that!_ Lily opened her mouth. "I-I" 

"Oh, look, Lucius. The little mudblood's lost for words. How touching." Both boys laughed.

Lily bit her lip. _Don't cry, Lily! Don't! _Tears began welling up in Lily's eyes. This was quite a great way to begin at a new school. Suddenly, someone came through the door and saved her. He had messy black hair and glasses. Whoever he was, he was quite welcoming as long as he wasn't friends with Lucius and Severus.

The boy gave a reassuring look to Lily, and glared at Severus and Lucius. "Why don't you two just leave her alone? What did you ever do to you?"

"Why, look, Lucius! It's our favorite mudblood lover, Potter. Well, Potter, for your information, we were just having a polite conversation with Lily here." Severus said in mock innocence. "Were we, Lucius?"

"Of course. We'd never dream of picking on poor innocent little Lily here."

"Just leave her alone, ok, Malfoy? That goes for you too, Snape. We'll be going now. Come on, Lily."

Lily looked from 'Potter' to Malfoy and Snape. She quickly followed 'Potter' out of the compartment. "Heythanks."

"It was nothing, really. Malfoy and Snape are losers."

"Oh." Lily said. "How do you know them?"

"Old friends of the family." He muttered.

Lily looked surprised, but she didn't ask more. She didn't want to come off as intrusive. This may be her one chance at friendship within Hogwarts. 

The boy led her into another compartment. It was empty besides one boy with dark brown hair and illuminating blue eyes. "Hey, Jamesie. Brought back a little girlie? Or is she another hopeful applicant?" Lily had no idea what the boy was talking about.

"Nope. I just saved her from those jerks, Snape and Malfoy. Unless she want_s _to be one of us." James said. _One of who? _Lily thought curiously. "Hey, Evans, any good at pranks?"

"No, I wouldn't say so. Why?"

James frowned. "Too bad. See, we're forming a group, The Marauders. It actually stands for something, but since it's already a word, everyone calls it the Marauders. We're thinking four or five people, including me and Sirius. We'll be the best of friends, and the best of pranksters. We're holding auditions on the train."

"You're holding auditions for best friends?" Lily raised her eyebrow.

"Yes, we are. I mean, what better way is there to find best friends? We'll get a little taste of everyone, and see who would make the best of the best of friends. Someone's here right now, watch and see, Evans."

"The marvelous pranksters extraordinaire, Sirius Henrick Black the 1st and James Brett Potter the 3rd are ready to see you. Come in, and take a seat." Sirius said as he opened the door and gestured toward an empty seat in the compartment.

"Arabella Figg at your service. By the way, before I sit down, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that the farting charm on the seats gets old fast." Arabella shot them both a smirk.

James scowled. "I'll have you know that the farting charm _never _gets old."

"Uh huh." Arabella nodded sarcastically, and took the seat beside the one Sirius had gestured to. "So, you can begin asking me pointless questions. Before you do begin, though, I need to make it clear to you that there is absolutely no prank that I _can't _pull off, and there is no response anyone can _ever _say that I can't come up with a 10-second-comeback for."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Me and my partner are not impressed. You may leave now."

"What? Afraid I could outprank you? Fine, then, I don't _need _to be a Marauder. I only came to see if you two were as full of it as word in the compartments said you were." 

James yawned. "I'm getting tired. Are you getting tired, Sirius?"

Sirius also faked a yawn. "Yeah, if only that annoying buzz in my ear would go away."

Arabella glared at the boys in disgust and stalked off. "Good riddance. By the way, this isn't the last you'll be seeing of Arabella Figg."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm oh-so scared."

"Hey, that was really mean, you two!" Lily said, giving them a small glare.

"Oh, so you're taking _her _side?" James replied.

"Yes! What did she do wrong? I mean, from what you both told me she'd be perfect for your group." Lily was shocked at her sudden outburst of confidence.

"Evans, you obviously don't know the first thing about us." Sirius said.

"Well, you know what? If you're going to be mean like that to nice people like Arabella, then I don't think I want to!"

"Fine, then, leave. No one's making you stay." James said.

Lily scowled. "I think I will. By the way, you've messed with the wrong person. You have no idea what I'm capable of." _And neither do I. _Lily found herself thinking, still in awe of where all this confidence was coming from.

"Whatever, Frizz." James hissed. Frizz. The second James uttered the word, Lily knew it was here to stay; a name that would stick with her every year of Hogwarts.

Lily walked straight out of the compartment, where she found herself grinning like an idiot. She had no idea what she was so happy about. She was furious at the boys for being such jerks. So, why was she smiling so much?

"Hi." Said a voice from behind her that she recognized as Arabella's. "What were you hanging out with those idiots for?"

"Beats me." Lily replied, again shocked her own ease and comfort of talking. It seemed she didn't even have to think about what she was saying, it just came out.

Arabella grinned. "Want to help me? I'm charming the door to pour marmalade on their heads when they open it."

"Oh?" Lily said, grinning. "Sounds fun. But, how do you know they'll open it?"

"They will. Knocking charm."

"Wow." Lily said, surprised. "You must know a lot of magic. Is this your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yep. But, I have a few witches in the family. Well, actually, only one, that I know of, my Great Aunt, Serenity Figg. I live with her, though, and she taught me some magic before I came, naturally. But, I'm not a stuck up pure blood, like Potter and Black."

"Oh." Lily replied nervously. She didn't know any magic yet. Would she be behind her class? Then she remembered what Malfoy and Snape had called her. "Hey, Arabella?"

"Please, call me Ara."

"Well, Ara? What's a mudblood?"

"Where'd you hear that? Potter and Black didn't-"

"No. I heard it from Snape and Malfoy. They called me one."

"Oh, you've met _them_?"

"Yeah, they were picking on me earlier. Until James Potter saved me from them."

Arabella raised her eyebrows. "Well, a mudblood is a horribly offensive word for muggles, people who were born from non-magical parents. Technically, I'm a muggle too. Only horribly snobby purebloods use that term." She concluded. "So, tell me more about this Malfoy/Snape incident."

"Well," Lily began "I was sitting in an empty compartment reading when the two of them came in and began to bother me. And they called me a mudblood when Potter came in, and told them to stop and brought me back to his compartment with Sirius. Then you came in, and they were all mean to you, so I told them off, and they were jerks and made me leave."

"Wow. Quite the hypocrite, that James Potter."

"You're telling me." Lily replied, grinning.

"So, Lily Evans. Tell me about yourself."

"Not too much to tell. I'm your typical eleven-year-old. I never knew about the wizarding world until I got my letter a few months ago. I have an older sister named Petunia, who's 14. My parents are really nice, and I'm pretty happy. That's really all there is to tell. The rest is yet to come."

"Interesting enough. So, what house do you think you'll get into?"

"House?"

"Oh, well, Hogwarts is divided into four houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. They're all equally good, supposedly, but my aunt says the Slytherin lot is supposed to be a horrible bunch. Every dark wizard whose been through Hogwarts has been in Slytherin. My aunt was a Ravenclaw, but I'm hoping for Gryffindor. That's supposed to be the best. They're brave, and fearless, supposedly. I guess Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff wouldn't be so bad either, though. Ravenclaws are very smart, and Hufflepuffs are loyal. All of the houses have good qualities, I guess, but I still say I'd hate to be a Slytherin."

"I bet I'll be a Slytherin."

"No way. You're _way _too nice. Besides, muggle borns _never _get into Slytherin. As legend goes, Salazar Slytherin, who was one of the originators of Hogwarts, and who crated the Slytherin house, hated muggle borns. He thought that the school should only be open to purebloods."

"Well, then, they'll probably say I'm not fit for any house and send me back home."

"Don't be so negative." Ara scolded. "They don't do that. At least, I don't think they do."

Lily grinned. "They'll make an exception when they see me."

"Sure they will. If they're making an exception for you, though, they're most _definitely _making an exception for me."

"They will not! You already _know _magic. I'll be behind the entire class."

"No you won't, Lily! You don't _really _believe that you're the only muggle born in our year, do you? Honestly! There are _lots _of people who won't know magic yet. We're all on the same level, really. Even though the pure bloods brag about knowing all this magic, they don't, not really; I mean, we're not supposed to do magic at _all _until Hogwarts, although everyone bends the rules."

"Ok, well, as long as I'm not way over my head. I don't wanna end up failing and getting kicked out."

"That won't happen, Lily. Don't worry so much. Now, then, here comes the food cart!"

*^~*~^*

"Firs' years, o'er here!" Shouted the largest man Lily had ever seen. Lily and Ara walked toward him, and he ushered them onto a boat. There were already two boys on the boat. Lily and Ara glared at them when they realized that they were none other than Sirius and James. 

"Hey, Frizz." James grinned cockily.

Lily glared. "Potter."

The exchange was cut off by the boat, which abruptly turned, leaving them with an astonishing view. The huge castle was right in front of their eyes. Lily felt her jaw drop. It was amazing; the largest structure Lily had ever seen. "Wow." Lily found herself murmering.

"I know. It's wonderful!" Ara replied.

"Ara! This is amazing! Thisthis is gonna be our life! Can you believe it?"

"No. Oh, god! This is too good to be true!" Ara squealed with Lily.

"When you two are finished squealing, we can get off this boat and see the inside of 'our life'." Sirius said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Ara. "Come on, Ar! This is it!"

Both girls entered the school, nervously. They were greeted by a middle-aged woman wearing a tight black bun. "Hello, students. I am Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few minutes, you will be sorted into your houses. You will live with your houses, eat at tables with your houses, and travel through your classes with your houses. Your houses will become like family to you throughout the year. When you do something against rules, you'll lose points for your house, and if you do something good, you will earn points for your houses. Your house will have a quiddich team, which you will be able to join next year." There were some groans, and two loud boos from Sirius and James at that. "As I was saying, your houses will be a very important part of your Hogwarts experience. Well, it is now time for the sorting to begin! I hope you all enjoy your time at Hogwarts! Good luck!"

Lily bit her lip. "H-how are we sorted, anyways?"

"I dunno. My aunt wouldn't tell me. Something in front of the school."

"In front of the school? Oh, no! I'll do terribly!"

"Don't worry, Lil. Just stay calm. It'll be fine. Breathe."

"Ok, I'm breathing." Lily said, hyperventilating. 

"Lily! I'm serious! Calm down! Do you want to look all sweaty and nervous in front of the school?"

"No! Eek! Do I look absolutely terrible?"

"You will if you don't calm down."

"Ok, ok. I'm calm. Uh oh, Ara! We're going in!" The line of Gryffindors filed in. 

"Ok, Lil. Just stay calm. Remember to breathe." The entire class of first years was suddenly in a huge hall. There didn't seem to be a ceiling in the hall either. The ceiling looked exactly like the sky outside.

"There really is a ceiling, you know. It's just enchanted to look like the sky outside."

"Wow. That's amazing." Lily said, in awe, her mind taken temporarily off of the sorting. Suddenly, her mind was back on the sorting when a patched, frayed hat on a table opened it's mouth, and broke into song.

__

More than a thousand years ago,

In times of wizards great,

Four wizards created this great school,

And it's still here to date!

The wizards were afraid the school,

Would die when they did

So they took me off a wizard's head

And made me make the bids,

Now, I'm the one to chose the houses,

For each and every child, 

And I'll be chosing every year,

Until after your grandchildren have been filed!

Now pick me up; put me on your head,

I'll decide in which house you do belong,

I'll tell you what is right for you, 

And, trust me, I'm never wrong!

(A/N: wowlooks like the sorting hat was having a very un-poetic yearsorry for the terrible song!)

The school burst into applause. "Lily! We have to try on the hat! That's all!"

Lily turned pale. "Ugh. I think I'm gonna be sick. We have to _sit _there? In front of the entire school? How nerve wracking!"

"Lily, calm down. It's gonna start now. It won't be so bad."

Professor McGonagall began calling out names. "Abbington, Henry."

Henry Abbington, a small, brown haired boy, walked up to the hat and put it on his head. He sat there for about half a minute before the hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Next, Amings, Lisa ("RAVENCLAW!"), and Billings, Robert ("SLYTHRIN!") were sorted. Lily's eyebrows raised as Sirius Black was called. After a few seconds, the hat proclaimed him a Gryffindor. After that, Cadberry, Nicole ("GRYFFINDOR!"), Dale, Monica ("HUFFLEPUFF!") were called. Lily bit her lip nervously. "E" was next. Lily heard her name being called. She froze. She felt Ara push her forward, and shout "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, LILY EVANS!" Lily went dark red, but took the advantage to bow deaply, and run toward the hat. She was grinning furiously at her entrance. She slipped the hat over her head. The hat began to speak inside of her head. _Well, well, I see some amazing things in your future. You'll need all the bravery you have. Fortunately, it seems you have quite a bit, you still need to find it, though. All the same, I think you'd be best for_"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily did a few little jumps in the air, and heard the Gryffindor table cheering loudly. Lily slided in, on the end of the Gryffindor table, next to Sirius who she glared at, and he returned a cocky grin. She turned her attention back to the sorting as Fallen, Mary ("SLYTHERIN!") was called. Next, she heard "Figg, Arabella". Deciding to return Ara's favor, she stood up, and yelled out "STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS, I GIVE YOU: ARABELLA FIGG!" Ara shot her a grin and ran up to the sorting hat. Lily crossed her fingers, and waited. Suddenly, the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily stood up, squealed, and hugged Ara. They both sat back down, grinning.

"It's so perfect!" Lily grinned. Then, they turned their attention to the sorting, which was already on L, and was sorting Lupin, Remus ("GRYFFINDOR!"). Malloy, Sarah was then sorted into Gryffindor. Tucker, Patrick was then sorted into Hufflepuff. Pettigrew, Peter ("GRYFFINDOR") was then sorted. Lily then heard James' name. She saw James walking confidently to the sorting hat, and being sorted into Gryffindor after a few short seconds. He stood up, grinning, and sat next to Sirius. Next, Snape, Severus was called. He was sorted into Slytherin almost instantly. Tucker, Brian was then sorted into Ravenclaw, and, finally, Weasley, Annabelle was sorted into Gryffindor. 

Lily sighed. "It's over. Thank god, I'm starved."

"Me too." Ara replied. At that, a man in front, who introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore began to talk. Ara groaned.

"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I hope you've all had enjoyable summers. I know I did, in fact, I visited quite the enjoyable resort where-" Dumbledore glanced at the glares McGonagall was shooting at him. "Erm, yes, yes, well, I'm glad to see the returning faces here, and I'd like to issue a special welcome to the new first years. I hope you have a good year here. I'd like to run over the rules for our new students, and for some that need reviewing." He glanced at a few people, mainly Hufflepuffs. "As I was saying, the rules. First of all, as always, the Forbidden Forest iswell, forbidden. Mr. Filtch would also like to remind you that all pranks, or anything that will make a mess of the school, are not permitted in the corridors." Dumbledore finished, "As I believe you're all hungry, please, enjoy! Bon appetite!" At that, food appeared on each and every plate.

"Finally!" Ara said, and both girls began to shovel food into their mouths.

"Hingry, are you?" James commented, in between bites of chicken.

"Yup." Lily said, ignoring James' sarcasm.

"If I were you, I'd be a little more careful of what I ate. You never know what Hogwarts food'll do to you." Sirius said, holding in a chuckle. He looked at James and suddenly both boys doubled over in laughter.

"What?" Ara asked. Then she turned toward Lily. "Oh, my god! Lily! Youryour face!"

"What? What's wrong with my face?" Lily said, not bothering to look up from the table.

"It has" Ara began to laugh. "It has GREEN POLKA DOTS ON IT!"

"WHAT? Oh, my gosh! That's _so _not funny, you two!" Lily glared at the boys who were rolling on the ground at that point. 

"Obviously," Ara began to laugh again, "_They_ think it is."

"Don't laugh, Ar! It's not funny!" Lily covered her face. She then turned toward Ara and broke out into laughter. "Looks" Lily gasped for breath. "I'mnot their onlyvictim!" Lily fell back and laughed at that point.

"What do you mean?" Ara asked curiously.

"You'rehair!" Lily said, keeling over in laughter. "It'sgrey! Withpolka dots!" Lily choked on a piece of chicken as she laughed.

"You can't be serious! OhhhPotter, Black! You'll pay for this!" Sirius and James continued to laugh hysterically. "And Lily, stop laughing!"

"Oh, so when _I'm _the one with polka dots on my face, it's funny, but when _you _have freaked out hair, it's not funny, eh?"

"Ok, ok, sorry, Lil, but, tonight we have to plot." Ara hissed, so that the boys couldn't hear.

Lily grinned. "Can't wait."

"For what?" James asked, finally standing up.

"Until I see what your hair looks like with mashed potatoes in it!" Lily said, flicking mashed potatoes toward James. James tossed some of his jello at Lily, but Lily ducked, and it hit a third year boy, who, in defense, threw back a drumstick of chicken, which hit a prefect. At that, a huge food fight began, which soon included all of the houses. As much as the staff tried to control them, they kept on going, until they were dismissed to their common rooms.

A prefect led them to the Gryffindor common room, and pointed the girls toward the girls' dormitories. Lily and Ara plopped down on their beds, and just as Lily was beginning to fall asleep, a pillow hit Lily's head. 

"Plotting time," Ara said, sitting on the edge of Lily's bed. Lily smiled. This was gonna be good.

A/N: so, you like? Good? Bad? Tell me in a review, pleaseee! I'm hoping for more reviews than ITNI dunno if that's possible for a writer as sucky as me, thoughoh, wellI know it seems like your typical L/J right now, but, it'll have my own creative, original ideas sooon!

In The News fans update:I'm *really* sorry you guysmy stupid laptop came backbut everything that was on it is GONE!*cries* terrrible, I know! So, I'll have to REWRITE the next chapterso, it probably won't be up for another month or so, knowing meI'm REALLYYYY sorry, ppl! 

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